


In the Oven

by madamebomb



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Pregnancy, Pregnant!Fic, Zuki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-06 01:02:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6731449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamebomb/pseuds/madamebomb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pregnancy is never easy, especially when you're carrying a Firebender.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Oven

Zuko shifted in the bed, rolling over and draping himself against the warm form beside him. Half-awake, he mumbled something unintelligible and started to drift back into deep sleep.

“Zuko? Get off me.”

His wife's voice sounded very far away, as he snuggled closer, her hair tickling his nose.

“You're too hot.”

“So're you. _Loveyousomuch_ ,” he breathed, his words running together as he drifted deeper into his dream, only vaguely aware of the body nestled snugly against his chest.

“I love you too, but get the hell off of me. I'm burning up.”

An elbow whacked his ribs hard enough to surprise a snoring snort out of him. He jolted awake, pain radiating from the point of impact.

“Ow!”

“Move over,” Suki huffed in the dark. “You're boiling me alive.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, I'm too hot right now. And you're just... It's too much.”

“Sorry, I'm just used to snuggling you. You used to like it,” he said, flopping onto his back and rubbing at sore ribs. She still hit like a hammer, his wife. She hadn't lost her edge, despite everything.

“I did, still do, but you have no idea how uncomfortable I am right now,” Suki said, groaning as she sat up and slowly rolled over. “I can't get fucking comfortable and I'm sweating like a bear-pig right now.”

“That's sexy,” he said as he waded up the pillow beneath his head and stared at Suki's silhouette framed against the moonlit windows.

“I'm _pregnant._ Sexy went out the window the day you held my hair back so I could puke.”

“I don't know, you're still sexy to me,” he said, his hand pushing up beneath the covers and sliding along her thigh, which was warm to the touch. He squeezed a little and she made an exasperated noise.

“What are you even trying to do right now?”

“...Make you feel sexy?” he hazarded, wincing.

“Your baby is sitting on my spine, rethink your strategy,” Suki drawled, pushing his hand off of her. He made a face as she gathered up her hair and fanned at her neck.

“You want some water?”

“I want to make love to an iceberg.”

“I'll take that as a yes,” he said and got out of the bed. He conjured a handful of flames as he crossed the room and poured a glass from the sweating pitcher, then brought it back to the bed. In the light of his fire, he could see that Suki had kicked the blanket free of her legs and had grabbed one of her fans from the nightstand and was cooling herself with it.

He sat down beside her and handed her the glass. She drank half of it in one gulp and then dipped her fingers in it, dribbling the cold water down the back of her neck. “Oh, that feels better. I think our child is trying to burn me alive.”

“They say that's a sign that the baby will be a Firebender.”

“The mother burns to death?”

He laughed a little. “No, just that they run hotter than normal. Even for a pregnant woman.”

“Well if that's the case, then this little rascal is going to be the greatest Firebender of all time. I'd be proud except they're also sitting on my bladder and it's kind of hard to think about anything but peeing right now. And my feet are so swollen I don't even want to walk to the bathroom. My everything hurts.”

Zuko grinned and took the glass from her, setting it on the nightstand. He lit one of the wall sconces and then let the flames in his hand die before turning and scooping Suki up in his arms, enjoying the way she squealed and clutched at him.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking you to the bathroom,” he said, cradling her against him. “My sweaty, pregnant wife needs to pee, dammit.”

“I'm not helpless.”

“Oh, trust me, I know,” he said with a grin as he hefted her against his chest. “Hey, have you put on a little weight?”

Suki laughed and playfully chucked his chin. “Watch it, Fire Lord.”

Zuko brought her into the bathroom and gently set her down in front of the privy. “Your throne.”

That brought another laugh out of her and she shoved him in the shoulder, then promptly shimmied her panties down and sat with a wobble. She let out a sigh of relief as she peed, tipping back her head, her eyes closed as the stream went on and on.

“That's a lot of pee.”

“Stop listening!”

“You're like a camelephant.”

“I _will_ pee on you.”

“And they say there's no romance after marriage.”

Suki laughed again, clutching her round belly. He grinned at her, but turned away when she finished. He listened to her laughter, then the sound of the chain being pulled. When he turned back around, she was struggling to tug her panties back up.

When she straightened, her nightie falling back to her her thighs, she shuffled to the sink and washed her hands. As she was drying her hands, she stopped and clutched at her lower back with a moan. “Get off my spine, kid.”

Zuko approached her and bent down to her stomach. “You hear that? Stop hurting your mom or you're grounded.”

“Oh!” Suki said and then huffed out a laugh. “They heard that. They're kicking.”

Zuko put his hand flat on her stomach, feeling the steady _beat-beat-beat_ of the baby's restless feet. “Argumentative little thing, aren't they? How much longer till we meet them again?”

“About six more weeks of cooking. At this rate, I'm not sure whose cooking more, me or them,” Suki said, pushing her sweaty hair back.

“I'm sorry.”

“You should be. This all your fault,” she pouted, blowing her hair out of her face.

“I take full responsibility,” he said solemnly. “You can blame me for all of it.”

“Damn right.” But the amusement in the corners of her eyes gave her away.

“Come on, back to bed,” Zuko said, gently picking her up again. Suki put her head on his shoulder as he walked back into the bedroom with his precious cargo. He set her down on the bed and then reached for his pillow. “Prop your belly on my pillow. Maybe that'll help your back.”

Suki laid down and carefully rolled over onto the pillow.

“That does feel a little better,” she sighed as he pulled the thin silk sheet over her. She looked up at him and blinked in the lantern light. “Sorry I snipped at you earlier.”

Zuko bent and kissed her temple. “I'll just chalk it up to crazy pregnancy hormones.”

“Still love me?”

“More than anything,” he said, extinguishing the lantern and then crawling into the bed beside her. He was sure to keep some distance between them, pillowing his head on his arm as he got comfortable under the covers. Suki shifted a few times, and then seemed to find a comfortable position. He listened to her breathing even out, and the sound of it lulled him back toward the warm embrace of sleep.

Just as he felt himself slip under, he heard a loud _fwap!_ sound and his eyes snapped open. There was silence for a moment and then Suki said sheepishly, “Sorry.”

“I think my eyes are watering,” he teased her.

“Shut up,” she mumbled. “I can't help it. Everything I eat makes me gassy.”

“Oh, I know. You were farting in your sleep all last night.”

“ _Spirits._ Still think I'm sexy?”

Zuko rolled over and nuzzled her ear. “ _Intensely_.”

“When I get this freeloader out of me, I'm gonna fuck the shit out of you,” Suki said in a muffled voice, her face shoved into her pillow.

“Don't threaten me with a good time,” he said and kissed her neck. She made a sleepy little noise of contentment. Zuko settled back onto his side of the bed, feeling just as content.

He wasn't aware of when he slipped into sleep again, but the next thing he knew, the morning birds were chirping at the window, the first rays of dawn streaming in through the curtains. He felt something warm against him, and the steady _beat-beat-beat_ of tiny feet. He looked down at his wife, her head resting on his chest, her body snuggled against his. She was snoring a little, her hair tangled on one side, a string of drool on her bottom lip that was slowly soaking into his pajamas.

Zuko combed his fingers through her ratted hair as she slept on his shoulder. He grinned to himself.

It was the perfect start to another perfect day.

_(end)_


End file.
